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HISTORY OVERVIEW HISTORY DETAILS
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Are Condemned to Repeat It!
"MIH
- MISSING IN HISTORY"
is what Helen
Zia (a prominent activist and book author) stated about the Asian/Asian
Pacific American communities. She adds that "I've been struck time and
again by how little is really known about us (Asian Pacific American communities)
and the America we are part of; how the rich textures of who we are, why
we are here, and what we bring to America remain so absent from the picture.
But a community as large, diverse, and dynamic as the Asian American and
Pacific Islander peoples cannot stay on the edge of obscurity, frustrated
by images that have rendered us invisible and voiceless, while other American
communities wonder why we are at the center of key issues of the day."
YURI KOCHIYAMA STATES "As long as we don't know our history and other's history, there will be no positive interactions or understanding." There is a great need to discover factual information that are not often disclosed in many of today's history books. RONALD TAKAKI HAS STATED THAT "The history of Asian Americans offers all of us an opportunity to carry into the coming century a larger memory of American's past." ALFONSO AGUILLAR, chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship, said the goal is to help immigrants integrate into U.S. society, learn English and identify with common civic values and a shared sense of history. "We cannot become a country of enclaves -- that's a recipe for disaster," he said. "There has to be a sense of community, a solidarity. . . . In the end, it's about political and social cohesion." In the past, such assimilation efforts have been undertaken by churches, libraries and community organizations. But the sheer number of immigrants, coupled with the migration patterns that have scattered them across the country, has prompted the federal government to get involved. "Immigrant integration is not something that takes place because a group of people suddenly decide they want to integrate," Jiménez said. "It's a gradual process, and it happens because people are pursuing their economic interests." (Tomás Jiménez) "Becoming American doesn't mean giving up your culture. Being American is three things: learning English, learning our system of government and learning our history." (Alfonso Aguillar) AS A RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE-LISTED WORDS, a personal invitation is extended to review the information listed within our "Timeline" section via the links listed below. It is our hope for many in the Asian/Asian Pacific American communities and general public to discover the great
BETWEEN
THE 1400's TO 1875, discover
the "Naturalization Act" where only "free white persons" can become US citizens,
Yung Wing (the first Chinese college graduate), Asian American soldiers
in the Civil War and many other little-known facts. Click HERE
for more information. BETWEEN
1875 AND 1899, the Page Law that barred
entry of Asians was passed, laws that Chinese were not eligible for naturalized
citizenship were in place, the first federal attempt to limit immigration
by nationality was seen in the Chinese Exclusion Act, segregated schooling
was evident in San Francisco's "Oriental School" and the Snake River Massacre
were among the events that happened during this period of time. Click
HERE for more info.
IN THE
YEARS BETWEEN 1900 TO 1909 the first Chinese
American bank was formed, Chinese Exclusion Act extended an additional
TEN years, witness Washington State barring Takuji Yamashita from practicing
law solely because he was part of the "yellow race," the birth of Anna
May Wong (acting pioneer), first Korean church in the United States
and California law barring marriage between "Mongolians" and Whites occurred
during that time. Click HERE
for more info.
EVENTS
BETWEEN 1910 AND 1919 include the opening
of Angel Island, the first medal of honor to an Asian American soldier,
the birth of actor Philip
Ahn, laws that prohibit land ownership for Asian Pacific Americans,
I.M. Pei is born, a Korean American "Rice King" among many others. Click
HERE for more details. IN THE
1920'S - George Shima was the "Potato King,"
the Cable Act stated that any American female who marries an "alien ineligible
for citizenship" could lose her citizenship and Alien Land Laws declared
"constitutional" were among some of things that happened during these
years. Him Mark Lai (Dean of Chinese American Studies) was born in San
Francisco (died in 2009). He recognized that understanding Cantonese and
Mandarin is just as important as reading the English resources to get
a more accurate pulse on the Chinese/Chinese American communities' history.
Click HERE
for additional information. THE 1930'S
included events such as the start of Nisei Week,
the birth of George Takei,
Washington State trying to eliminate interracial marriages and the first
All Chinese American professional basketball team - among many others.
Click HERE for specific
details. THE WAR
YEARS OF THE 1940'S witnessed the following
events - the Japanese internment camps, birth of Bruce
Lee, formation of the Tiger Brigade, the Flying Tigers were well-known,
the achievements of the 100th/442nd and Dr. Sammy Lee winning a Gold Medal
were among situations occurred during these tumultuous times. Click HERE
to discover the specific details. BETWEEN
1950 AND 1959, Alien Land Laws were repealed,
there Chinese American Nobel Prize winners, Confession Program pardoned
undocumented Chinese immigrants and the election of various Asian Pacific
American politicians occurred - among many other events. Click HERE
for additional information. THE
60'S saw the success of Flower
Drum Song, Patsy Mink becomes the first Asian American Congresswoman,
immigration quotas are eliminated, March Fong Eu is elected and other
exciting events happened. Click HERE
for additional information. IN THE
1970'S - Norman Mineta became the first
Asian American mayor of a prominent American city, repeal of "Anti-Oriental"
laws, Michael Chang (tennis player) is born, David Lee designed the daisy
wheel, Lisa Ling is born, OCA is formed and the Don
Ho Show is on ABC are among the many exciting events that happened
during these years. Click HERE
for additional information. IT
ISN'T FAIR." These words were Vincent Chin's last before he lost
consciousness. On June 19, 1982, Chin, a 27 year-old Chinese American,
was beaten to death with a baseball bat in Detroit by two Caucasian
men. The perpetrators were Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, who blamed
Japanese carmakers for Detroit's problems in the auto industry.
Ebens was heard saying, "It is because of you little motherf*ckers
that we're out of work!" Click HERE
for more info. THE 1980'S
saw the US Government recognizing the internment
injustices, Maya Lin designing the Vietnam Memorial, the murder of Vincent
Chin, Haing Ngor
wins an Oscar and Monterey Park being recognized as the US's first surburban
Chinatown are some of things that happened during these years, Click HERE
for additional information. BETWEEN
1990 AND 1999, Wen Ho Lee was falsely imprisoned,
May recognized as Asian Pacific American Month, Miss Saigon protests,
Rodney King riots, various hate crimes, Margaret
Cho's show on ABC, Gary Locke becomes the first Asian American governor
of a Mainland state and Bill Lann Lee is appointed Assistant Attorney
General are among some the events that happened, Click HERE
for additional information. IN
THE 21ST CENTURY, Click2Asia folds, aMagazine
becomes another victim of Click2Asia's failures, AsiaWeek stops operating,
Dong Kingman dies, Syngman Rhee becomes the Presbyterian Church's first
Asian American moderator, Bush appointments of numerous Asian Pacific Americans in various
cabinet positions and the 9/11 tragedy are some of the things that have occurred in the first
decade of the 21st Century. Click HERE
for additional information on the events that happened between the years of 2000 to 2004.
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